E-mail this article

To:

Invalid E-mail address

Add a personal message:(80
character limit)Your E-mail:

Invalid E-mail address

Sending your article

By Sean Teehan, Town Correspondent

Police are
investigating the second set of Facebook picture printouts depicting
Melrose High School students drinking and smoking marijuana sent to
school and police officials in the past few weeks, Melrose Police Chief
Michael Lyle said yesterday.

School Resource Officer John Ross received the initial set of
photographs around Sept. 1, Lyle said. The pictures, sent anonymously,
displayed what Ross identified as 37 MHS students at a house party
involved with the "consumption of marijuana, or alcoholic beverages, or
in the presence of [them,]" Lyle said. Police are investigating when or
where the party or parties occurred, he said.

All 37 students and parents were contacted and met with Ross, who
showed parents the incriminating photos individually.

Although MHS has strict drug and alcohol policies, especially for
student athletes, the school left punitive action to the parents, said
Patricia Ruggiero, Melrose High School's athletic director.

"We feel that this is an issue that the parents can work out with their
child," Ruggiero said, adding that easily manipulated Internet photos
couldn't stand as sole evidence of wrongdoing.

In a joint statement about the first set of pictures sent, Lyle and
Melrose Superintendent Joseph Casey noted their disappointment with the
situation and encouraged parental mediation.

"Parents are the primary and first line of defense to this problem," the statement said.

With the investigation of the first set of photos still underway,
police received the second set of Facebook printouts last week, Lyle
said.

"I take a lot of pride in what I do and when something like this
happens, it's like a kick in the gut," Lyle said. "I find it something
very disheartening for me that [after] everything we've done to educate
kids about the evils of alcohol...and drug abuse and what it does to
individuals."

Lye said department officials will meet with parents of teens in the photos.

"Those are the questions that will be asked of parents and guardians:
'Is this your basement? Is this your living room? Did you condone this
in your house?'" Lyle said. He added that the department may enact the
Social Host law, which fines parents for underage drinking at their
residence, whether or not they were aware of the illegal activities.

Troubling as he finds the alleged drinking and drug use of Melrose
teens, Lyle expressed concern for students with pictures of them
engaging in illegal activities online, where the public can see.